CLEVELAND — The Mid-American Conference announced on Wednesday major changes coming to their football scheduling model beginning next season.
The conference will be eliminating divisions in football meaning that there will no longer be a MAC West and East, and now the top two teams based on conference winning percentage will meet for the MAC championship at the end of the season.
“After significant study and discussion, our membership has made the decision to eliminate divisions in football,” said MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher. “A primary goal in our discussions centered around ensuring the scheduling methodology utilized facilitated the best opportunity to put the two best teams into the championship game. The new model will protect rivalries while facilitating a more even rotation of teams through each institution’s schedule.”
Teams will now be grouped into pods based on geographic location that will help protect rivalries:
- Toledo, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois
- Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan
- Kent State, Akron, Buffalo
- Miami, Ohio, Ball State
The new scheduling model will also make it so each school will face all 11 conference opponents, home and away, at least once during a three-year cycle.
Each school's future opponents are expected to be announced by the end of January 2024, with the full schedule for next season being released at the end of February.
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